


better not pass me by

by lumimochi



Category: GOT7, K-pop, Red Velvet (K-pop Band)
Genre: 94 line, AU, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-28
Updated: 2015-11-28
Packaged: 2018-05-03 18:52:54
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,803
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5302886
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lumimochi/pseuds/lumimochi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Back on the bleachers, Soojung shakes her head, taking her eyes away from the court and directing them to one of her oldest friends. “Oh, honey,” she says sympathetically.</p>
            </blockquote>





	better not pass me by

**Author's Note:**

> Unbeta'd. Italics are used for emphases or past-tense. Talk to me on tumblr, I am icecream-daifuku.

So it’s like this: she’d finished her essay earlier than planned, all of her pre-reading is done (twice), and frankly, her eyes hurt from staring at size-twelve print all day. So she types in a response into the group chat, walks out of her dorm, and makes her way to the gymnasium. It’s not hard to spot her group of friends seated on the bleachers, and somehow, she manages to make a path for herself through the heavy volume of students and teachers alike as she glances at the score.

 

“They’re not bad.” She says as she settles in beside Youngji.

 

Hyeri practically swoons, “ _They’re great._ ”

 

She narrows her eyes, “Are we talking about the same thing?”

 

A buzzer sounds and she startles when everyone else on the bleachers holler for Number 6, who apparently hit a three-pointer before the end of the first half.

 

The teams take a break during the intermission and everyone either clears out to get food, or turn towards their friends as the teams prepare to switch sides.

 

“I’m going to grab some popcorn. Any requests?” Youngji says, standing up.

 

“Get me some too,” Namjoo says as she looks through her purse for some change.

 

“I’ll join you,” Naeun says with a smile.

 

“I’ll come along too,” Seulgi adds, abruptly standing up. Somewhere below her, she hears Hyeri squeal and she looks up in time to see Youngji, wide-eyed and reaching out to her a few steps away, but mostly, she hears a loud, smacking noise and sees, more than feels, herself being forced back down rapidly.

 

When she opens her eyes, her face is pressed against someone’s neck and a hand is supporting the back of her head.

 

She hears her friends say “Seulgi-yah, are you okay?” and “Jaebongie, nice catch!” and she feels the person above her gingerly get back up, sliding his hold on the nape of her neck to her arm to pull her up with him. All in all, she’s fine, just a little off-balanced now.

 

“Sorry,” Basketball Player says as she eyes his jersey, just as another player runs up to them.

 

“Hey, sorry.” Basketball Player 2 says in English as he hands the first guy a towel, and then in Korean, “That was my fault. Are you okay?”

 

Seulgi nods, feels Youngji press a reassuring on her arm. “Yeah. Yeah, I’m totally fine. Are you-“ she waves a hand in the first guy’s direction. “Are you okay?”

 

He smiles, and she notices his dimples and the two moles above his left eye. “Yeah. Uh,” he passes the towel into her hands. “It’s clean. Sorry again.” He gives her a small wave and then he’s off with the second guy in tow.

 

“So…” Namjoo says, “Popcorn?”

 

“Yeah,” Seulgi twists the towel in her hands. “Let’s go.”

 

Needles to say, her eyes are on Jersey Number 6 for the rest of the game. She almost wishes she brought her glasses.

 

 

 

 

 

The next day, Hyeri tells her that Im Jaebum is out for the week due to a sprained wrist.

 

“Who?”

 

“Im Jaebum,” Hyeri repeats, folding a towel on her lap before tossing it on the couch.

 

Seulgi only raises an eyebrow, still concentrated on folding laundry.

 

“ _JB._ ” Youngji offers slowly.

 

Seulgi pauses, because the last one sounds a little familiar, but then she shakes her slowly.

 

Her roommate, Seungwan, steps out of the shower, drying her hair with a towel as she greets everyone with her trademark smile. “Are you talking about the basketball player?” she leans over to flip her hair to side and says in English, “Number six, right?”

 

Seulgi freezes, hand hovering over the laundry bin. She looks at her friends, horrified and wide-eyed. “Really?”

 

Youngji nods, “That’s the one.”

 

Seulgi bites her lip. When she reaches down again, the first thing she picks up is the towel from yesterday.

 

 

 

 

 

“Seulgi-yah!”

 

She rips her gaze away from the windows on the gym doors and recognizes one of the players from yesterday. She opens her mouth, and closes it right away.

 

He holds out his hand, “ Wang, Jackson!” he shakes her hand vigorously when she takes it. “I heard your friends say your name. I can call you that, right? You can call me Jackson.” He notices the towel in her hand and his face lights up. “Are you looking for Hyung? I’ll tell him to come out.”

 

The door closes behind him and she’s left wondering what to do now, wondering if Im Jaebum is angry. He always looks to stoic outside of the court. She should say sorry, but then what? The door opens just as abruptly as it closed a minute ago and Number 6 is standing in front of her and she still doesn’t know what to say.

 

“Hey,” recognition quickly flashes across his face. “You’re-“

 

“I’m so sorry,” she cuts in. “I heard you broke your wrist and you’re not playing for the rest of the week and I’m so, _so_ sorry.”

 

He laughs and raises his hand in the air, “Hey. Listen to me: it’s okay. It’s just a sprain,” he lifts up his bandaged-up left wrist. “No cast. Just gauze. See?”

 

The words come out of her mouth before she can stop them. “You’re crazy for doing what you did.”

 

He lets out an awkward laugh and she bites down on her lip again. “I’m sorry, you’re not crazy. I just,” she pulls out the towel and an ice pack from her bag, “wanted to give these to you.”

 

He takes them, that infuriating grin still on his face. “Thank you. Uh, Seulgi-yah.”

 

She looks at him, just as she’s about the turn away.

 

He licks his bottom lip, and she pretends she wasn’t just watching it like a hawk. “Actually, I have a way you can make it up to me.”

 

 

 

 

 

Seulgi sighs as she reads her textbook, or rather, rereads the same paragraph she’s read for the nth time. Below her, the school’s basketball team is practicing shooting or something, Jaebum among them. Turns out, you can shoot with one hand.

 

_“So then, why are you out?” she asks as he sinks one in._

_“Wouldn’t want to make it worse somehow, right? Besides, if I’m out, a freshie will get to play.” He sinks another one in._

_“Oh.”_

 

She makes the mistake of looking up and, lo and behold, Jaebum is readying himself at the three-point line. He looks her way in time to catch her gaze and he points to the basket before he goes for it, and of course, he gets it in. He grins at her triumphantly and she isn’t sure how to react, so she gives him a tight-lipped smile.

 

_She stops, doesn’t hesitate to reply. “Okay, whatever you need.”_

_“I haven’t been able to meal-prep,” he says after a pause._

_She gives him an odd look. “What?”_

_“Can you cook?”_

_She thinks of Seungwan and the packs of instant ramyeon she has stored in case her roommate has a late study session. “Sure…” she drawls._

_“Perfect. Wait for me?” He pulls the handle and holds the door open for her. She hesitates for a second before walking through._

 

“Seulgi-yah, I think you need to read the whole chapter in order to understand it,” Jackson says blithely, plopping down next to her, wiping the back of his neck with a towel.

 

She looks at him with a start, “Ah, yeah.” She goes back to reading that same damned paragraph anyway and lets out a little sigh.

 

He stares out at the court above them. “JB Hyung really has you in a tight spot, hey?” he teases.

 

She grins a little, continuing onto the next paragraph. “It’s the least I could do.”

 

“I hope you like grilling,” he says as he stands back up. “Good luck!”

 

She watches him walk down the bleachers before calling Seungwan.

 

 

 

 

 

Her eyebrows crease when he laughs from behind her. She’s been staring at his George Foreman for about five minutes.

 

“You know,” he starts, “It helps if you plug it in first.”

 

She purses her lips and nonchalantly reaches for the plug. “I knew that.”

 

“I got my roomie to season the chicken breast, and there are vegetables in the fridge,” he instructs. She can practically hear him grinning.

 

“Okay,” she quips, recounting the instructions Seungwan had given her over the phone earlier. Maybe she’ll get her to text them to her. She opens his cabinets, trying to ignore the suspicion that he’s watching her as intently as she’s looking for a freaking pan. “Where do you keep your pans, by the way? And didn’t you say you wanted to take a shower?”

 

From behind her, he reaches up and pulls out a frying pan. “I did,” she startles at the nearness of his voice and she looks over her shoulder, feeling her heart rate speeding up a little bit when she sees that his face is right next to hers. She thinks her heart might explode at what he says next. “Do you want to join me?”

 

He’s teasing, she knows it; sees the glimmer in his eyes, hears the tone in his voice, and God, he’s grinning again and she thinks she might hate his teasing but she really likes the smile on his face, and she can’t stop her face from heating up. Just as quickly as he says it, he laughs and steps back before placing the pan on the burner. “I’m just kidding, don’t be mad. But I am going in for that shower.”

 

He’s halfway to the bathroom before he turns around again. “And Seulgi-yah, feel free to use anything as you please.”

 

She mumbles an affirmation just as she turns around to open the fridge. Her hand misses the hand the handle when she catches (watches) him slip his shirt off.

 

 

 

 

 

“It looks great,” he says with a little laugh.

 

Seulgi eyes the two plates on the table. “I hope your roommate thinks the same.”

 

“Jinyoung? Oh, he’s not coming. The other one’s for you,” he lifts his palm to her.

 

After a moment’s hesitation, she lowers herself onto the stool across from him and slowly begins cutting up the chicken breast. She hears a sharp ‘clack’ and looks up in time to see a piece of carrot fly off the table, Jaebum also staring at it with an embarrassed expression. Instantly, she reaches for his plate while pushing her aside.

 

“I’ll cut it for you.”

 

He huffs out a laugh as he slides his stool back and picks up the piece of vegetable off the ground. “Regardless of what you might think, I’ve been happily eating with my bare hands.”  


She flushes as she finishes cutting up the last of his veggies into smaller pieces. “I’m so sorry.”

 

“Don’t be,” he offers before popping a piece of chicken breast in his mouth. “Besides, it’s totally Jackson’s fault.”

 

She grimaces a little, picking at her chicken. It’s tough and gamey, like cartilage. “You should’ve just let the ball go its course.”

 

“Then we’d never be having this amazing dinner.”

 

They give each other a long look, but she’s the first to crack, her laugh starting small and nervous but when he joins in, clear and good-humored, they end up laughing joyously together.

 

“Oh God, I’m so sorry,” she says, wiping away a tear.

 

She can’t bring herself to do it, but he finishes the whole meal.

 

 

 

 

 

She’s in the café early the next morning, sitting next to Youngji when Jackson sits down at the table, a new guy in tow. He introduces himself as Jinyoung and he has a wicked smile on his face. He says, “Jaebongie has food poisoning. Must be from eating with his dirty hands all day or something,” before he sips his Americano.

 

Youngji chokes on her coffee, covering her mouth to hold back her laughter.

 

Taking a bite out of his bagel, Jackson adds, “He’ll be better by tomorrow. Probably.”

 

 

 

 

 

She’s standing in front of him, on the other side of the door, when he immediately raises a hand to stop her from speaking.

 

“Don’t…” he begins. When he’s sure she isn’t going to speak, he continues, “Say sorry.”

 

Her mouth hangs open. “I gave you food poisoning.”

 

He swallows uncomfortably; adjust the glasses on the bridge of his nose. “You? No. It was probably something else. You’re okay, aren’t you?”

 

“I had one bite.”

 

“And you wasted a perfectly good chicken breast.”

 

She eyes him, but he doesn’t stop smiling. Finally, she just leans down and picks up two bags, one much larger than the other. “I bought you some congee. And got my roommate and Youngji to redo your meal-prep. Trust me, they’re much better than I am.”

 

He takes them, his fingers brushing against her wrist and the smile on his lips is gentler, thoughtful even. “Thank you.”

 

She smiles back and maybe she lingers a little too long, but he doesn’t move away either. “You’re welcome.”

 

 

 

 

 

It’s been about a week since Jaebum sprained his wrist and they’re at this weird place, theoretically speaking: Not really friends, but more than acquaintances too.

 

_Soojung waggles her eyebrows at her over her cup of chai tea latte. “Am I sensing the beginning of a ‘some’ relationship?”_

_She opens her mouth, ready with a retort. She’s gotten enough from Namjoo and Youngji, and even Seungwan has asked about it once, and she doesn’t even know the guy’s major. “Don’t even go there.”_

_The other woman laughs, puts her cup down and levels her with a mischievous look. “It’s really not so bad.”_

She’s cutting through the courtyard when he calls out to her.

 

Now, this man (because that’s what he is now and when was the last time she saw him?) leaves her a little breathless and little out of sorts, but he’s one of her oldest friends and she’s known him almost as long as she’s known Seungwan or Soojung. And the truth of the matter is that she’s missed him, even if he was the other half of a painful, one-sided high school crush.

 

“Kyuhyun Oppa,” she breathes.

 

 

 

 

 

“How’s school?” he says as they pass the library.

 

“It’s good.” She purses her lips, “How’s the café?”

 

He stuffs his hands in his coat pockets, bumps his shoulder with hers. “It’s good,” he parrots teasingly. “You should come by when you can.”

 

She’s been finding herself awkwardly trying to find words all week. This is one of these times. In front of them, a group of students walk into the gymnasium.

 

“I, um-“ she starts, pointing to the double doors. “There’s a game I was going to watch with some of my friends,” she finishes lamely.

 

He looks over her head, contemplating something for a moment. “Do you mind if I join you?”

 

 

 

 

 

She’s watching another game and she wishes desperately for the ball to hit her in the face this time, maybe knock her out. It doesn’t, so she just stuffs her face with popcorn. Kyuhyun sits next to her, and Soojung takes her other side, Youngji and Hyeri next to her. She feels her phone vibrate in her pocket.

 

Hyeri: where’d he come from?

 

Youngji: why is he here? why are we here? lol

 

Soojung: wth seulgi

 

Naeun: namjoo and i have to finish our project :( :( whats going on?

 

Soojung: srsly i cancelled plans for this

 

Seulgi: he just showed up

 

She clicks her phone off, but the screen lights up again.

 

Youngji: but what are we doing here?

 

Seulgi: cause you love me?

 

Namjoo: whats going on??????

 

“The home team is pretty good, hey?” Kyuhyun comments, eyes wholly invested in the game.

 

Seulgi hums in affirmation as she slides her phone in her pocket, ignoring the oncoming vibrations. Next to her, Soojung narrows her eyes.

 

“Oppa, what brings you around?” Soojung asks sweetly.

 

“Ah, I was with one of my business partners. Thinking about opening up another café nearby…” he glances at Seulgi, who keeps her own eyes focused on the direction of the basketball. “I thought I’d stop by for a minute.”

 

Soojung gives him a long, tight-lipped smile. “That’s a long minute, Oppa.”

 

He smiles back, unfazed if he recognized the underhanded slight.

 

In front of them, one of the coaches calls for a time-out. The two teams huddle with their respective players, and Seulgi automatically zones in on one of the two players she knows. For a moment, she thinks she makes eye contact with Jaebum, but when she blinks, his head is down, looking at some formation or something their coach has drawn out.

 

“Hey, I have to go,” Kyuhyun says, standing up. He leans down to give her a hug. “It was nice seeing you.”

 

“Okay, Oppa,” she chirps maybe to quickly, responding with a hasty hug in return.

 

From the court, Jaebum glances up again as Kyuhyun stands back up and starts walking away, giving Seulgi’s ponytail a soft tug. He watches until the other man walks out the door. This, of course, goes unnoticed by Seulgi.

 

Back on the bleachers, Soojung shakes her head, taking her eyes away from the court and directing them at one of her oldest friends. “Oh, honey,” she says sympathetically.

 

 

 

 

 

Seulgi tugs her heavy, wool turtleneck over her chin, shivering in the late-November chill. It’s been exactly two weeks since she’d ‘crippled’ (Hyeri’s word of choice, not hers) Jaebum.

 

“Seulgi-yah!” she turns her head to see Jackson running up to her. “Are you coming tonight?”

 

She’d missed the last one studying for an exam, but tonight, she’s free. Except, a part of her hesitates to answer right away. Things have shifted with her and Jaebum. (But how can a relationship change when there was hardly one to begin with anyway?) The past week, they’d hardly exchanged words, much less seen each other. It felt weird, unpleasant even.

 

“I’m not sure,” she says honestly.

 

He studies her face, contemplating something before speaking again. This is a side of Jackson she’s not used to seeing. “Hey, you should come. Hyung’s been killing it.”

 

“You never know, I might just break his wrist again,” she jokes.

 

He laughs, and she feels her shoulder relax. “No seriously, you should come.” A pause. “And bring Youngji. Bye!”

 

She laughs, a wry smile making its way across her lips.

 

 

 

 

 

“Why did you want me to come so badly?” Youngji asks, passing the popcorn to Soojung, who refuses, then to Namjoo a seat over. Even Seungwan has decided to join.

 

“Jackson asked me to bring you,” Seulgi responds bluntly. She smiles when her friend’s cheeks turn red.

 

Soojung laughs, a grin tugging on her tinted lips, “How cute.”

 

Seulgi gives her mischievous grin, “That could be you and Myungsoo, but you’re such a b-“

 

Soojung’s jaw drops. “Don’t even,” she says in exasperation. “Seriously, it’s not my fault he-“

 

“Is totally in love with you, you jerk.” It’s Seulgi’s turn to laugh at Soojung’s flustered expression. “Who runs to the convenience store for tampons at four in morning for just any girl?”

 

“Yeah, who buys burritos at four in the morning for just any girl? I didn’t even know there was a place open that late,” Namjoo adds.

 

Soojung rubs her temple with her manicured fingers. “I just can’t shake him.”

 

Back to the game, Jackson gets antoher basket in, making the score 24 to 22 for the home team. He spots them on the bleachers and flashes them a thumbs up. Jaebum goes for a rebound. When he gets it in, his focus does not shift away from the ball.

 

“JB looks so serious,” Youngji mentions casually.

 

“I think Jackson mentioned playoffs being soon or something,” Seulgi provides, but she can’t help but think he’s acting odd.

 

Jaebum goes to make a pass, but before he can do so, the other player in front of him slaps his wrist and the balls drops. She thinks that’s reason enough for a foul, but the referee apparently hasn’t caught it.

 

“He looks so mad,” Soojung asserts. “It’s kinda hot.”

 

In her head, Seulgi agrees, but she knows better than to agree with Soojung after what she’d told her at the café.

 

“Oh, it’s halftime,” the oldest girl provides. “More popcorn, anyone?”

 

She, Youngji, and Seungwan leave to grab more popcorn, leaving just herself and Soojung. Except, she blinks, and the other woman is suddenly on the other side of the court, handing Jaebum a slip of paper. A weird feeling bubbles in her stomach as she watches how Jaebum flushes in front of the pretty girl, the campus’ resident Ice Princess, as some of his teammates make cooing noises around him.

 

The home team wins and Namjoo is the one to ask as they’re leaving the gymnasium.

 

“Oh, that?” Soojung begins as she brushes through the crowd. “I gave him Seulgi’s number.”

 

Seulgi stops so quickly that Youngji and Namjoo bump into her. Seungwan only laughs.

 

 

 

 

 

He calls her as soon as they all step out onto the courtyard. Her friends give her knowing looks and they tease her with “Good luck!” and a suggestive  
“Have a good night,” from Soojung has her neck burning. She waits for him outside because she’s suddenly too hot.

 

She regrets it quickly because it’s freezing, like, she swears it’s negative ten or something and she’s practically trembling under her hoody as she sits along the edge of the fountain, the courtyard now barren. She startles when she feels something around her shoulders and sees that it’s a jacket. She looks up just as Jaebum sits down next to her.

 

“Hey,” he greets.

 

“Hey.”

 

“Soojung gave me your number,” he says.

 

She hums in response, unsure where this is going but she feels butterflies in her stomach nonetheless.

 

“I saw you with that guy at our game, so I thought…” he trails off and the butterflies increase. “But she says that you’re single… Among other things.”

 

She’s watching his face, and he’s looking in front of him, contemplative. He licks his lips nervously.

 

“Yeah,” she confirms.

 

“So,” he continues, turning his face to gaze down at her face. “Before anyone else comes along, I wanted to know if you’d have dinner with me. I’ll cook this time.” He adds the last part teasingly. “And maybe we could have dinner again after that. Or a movie, or whatever else you’d like to do.”

 

She’s blatantly staring at him now, but so is he to her. “Okay,” she says breathlessly.

 

Instantly, his face breaks into a smile, eyes glimmering and teeth showing the way she’s starting to like too much, and he leans back, eyes still on her. “Ayy, I knew you liked me.”

 

She relaxes then, laughing with her exhale. But she doesn’t deny it.

 

 

 

 

 

Soojung sends her a wink via text not even ten minutes later.


End file.
